November 9 @ 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm

|Free

The Gallery at Town Center is exhibiting a selection of works by Watercolor Artist, Charlene Collins Freeman and Photographer, Shannon Tipple-Leen. See these works and the creations of over 90 other local artists during gallery hours: Tuesday – Saturday, Noon to 5pm

On display October 1 – November 9, 2019

I am both enthralled and comforted by the richness of everyday scenes and moments. I am drawn to subjects which, through their ordinary and familiar qualities, take on a sense of beauty. Something catches my eye, something common, and in that moment it strikes me as extraordinary. There is great beauty in what surrounds us. In particular, nature continues to inspire me.

My work focuses on the pauses between our words and the scenes between our actions, as these represent the threads that connect us.

Artist Bio

Born in San Francisco, California with an American father and Italian mother, Charlene was raised in Italy and in the U.S., between the new world and the old. She attended Mills College and the University of Utah, where she received her BFA in 1987.

Her artwork and photography have been exhibited in national and international shows and received top awards, including several Best in Show honors. In 2011 Charlene was awarded signature membership in the Northwest Watercolor Society and an Individual Artist Project Grant by 4Culture for her photography work. In 2013 she had two watercolors selected for inclusion in Splash 15, an annual compilation of the year’s best American watercolors published by North Light Books. In the same year she was also invited to join Women Painters of Washington.

In 2014 she was chosen as a finalist in the Landscape category of The Artist’s Magazine 31st Annual Art Competition, which appeared in the issue of December 2014. In 2015 her work was again selected for inclusion in the annual compilation of the year’s best American watercolors, Splash 17. She was the speaker at the Kenmore Art Show in 2015, presenting “Traveling with a Sketchbook.” Charlene was honored by the City of Kenmore in 2010 and again in 2013 when the City purchased her watercolors for the City’s Art Collection. Her works hang in private collections, corporate collections and public buildings.

Charlene has been a juror for several exhibits and she teaches drawing, painting, and the joy of sketchbooking at numerous art schools and colleges. In 2016 she became the U.S. partner for World Tours Studio (http://www.worldtoursstudio.com), which organizes workshops around the world. In 2017 she fulfilled a long time dream by opening her own art school, Cloud 9 Art School, located in downtown Bothell (www.cloud9artschool.com).

My photographic images are of pieces I find on my morning walks with my dogs or on trips with my family. I photograph these works either in the studio or on-site with a backdrop.

My work is about seeing details that are often overlooked when we are moving through our busy lives. I love the contrast between the white backdrop and the piece in front of it. By isolating the piece and removing the context, my hope is the viewer will see parts of these plants they never noticed before. That they will marvel at their color and shape and perhaps when they are out next time, they will stop to appreciate something cool for a few minutes.

I also have come to recognize that my work is about aging and appreciating the beauty in every stage of the process. I have found that I have a natural fondness for plants that are on the latter end of their life cycle and find that a crinkled edge or bulging seed pod creates a new interest in a piece. I know this is no coincidence as a middle-aged artist.

In the end, my photographs are a celebration for me, of being able to be out walking in the world, seeing color, texture, and life grow and change and memorialize it during the process.